After 14 years together, Clare Balding and her partner Alice Arnold have tied the knot. The TV presenter and her long-time love returned to the registry office where their civil partnership was held in September 2006, although they did not have the same large ceremony at Chiswick House as they did eight years ago.In fact, this time around Clare and Alice had an intimate marriage service without any guests."They just backdate it to when you did your civil partnership," Clare explained during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show. "So officially now we have been married since 2006."We didn't have a big party at all actually," added the 44-year-old broadcaster. "Nobody came apart from us."
Clare and Alice at Chiswick House where the reception for the Civil Partnership was held eight years ago
When quizzed on whether she and BBC Radio 4 announcer Alice would host an event to honour their union at a later date, Clare responded: "I'm quite keen on the whole idea of a party obviously, I don't know the etiquette though, are you allowed to ask for presents again? It's all about the party and the presents. "Celebrations aside, Clare said she feels that same-sex marriages are an important milestone for gay couples."It's about equality," she said. "It's just about knowing that you can and knowing that you can say 'I'm married', and nobody's going to think that's married in inverted commas, no that’' actually married. I think it's great."
The couple have now officially been married since 2006
Alice was proudly by Clare's side at Windsor Castle in October 2013 when she received her OBE for 18 years of service to both radio and television.Having her loved one there didn't cure Hampshire-born Clare of her nerves, however, and despite having rode with Prince Anne when the pair were both amateur jockeys, the Royal Ascot presenter admitted she was "terribly nervous" about meeting her at the investiture. "I've been pretty busy then suddenly yesterday I thought "Gosh I'd better make sure everything's in order for tomorrow"," Clare said at the time. "I'm still a bit shaky now. I talked absolute gibberish, absolute gibberish - I was just hopeless."I mucked my curtsey up," she added. "I nearly fell over as I turned and walked away, messed up properly, but luckily not too many people had seen that."